Frank Skinner's departure from Absolute Radio has caused an uproar among those who believe 'ageism' was at play.
The 67-year-old comedian and presenter, real name Christopher Graham Collins, announced his shock departure from the station earlier this month. He admitted: "I'm not going to pretend I took it well." He has been on the station since 2009 and was inducted into the Radio Academy Hall of Fame in December 2015.
He has also hosted the Saturday breakfast slot The Frank Skinner Show, alongside co-hosts Emily Dean and Pierre Novellie, and also hosts Frank Skinner's Poetry Podcast, which will continue for two more series. Frank said that he and his co-hosts Emily and Pierre were 'sacked'.
After the news was announced, critics were quick to blame 'ageism' for the reason behind his departure. Journalist Nick Duerden made the claims and compared it to 73-year-old Ken Bruce's departure from BBC Radio 2 last year. Writing in the i, Nick suggested: 'No one could understand how Radio 2 undervalued Ken Bruce quite so much, and now much the same seems to happening with Skinner, a man of some vintage, yes, but who never looked his age, and never sounded it, either. He was good, still is."
Frank has been with Absolute Radio for 15 years (Birmingham Mail)Meanwhile, Telegraph's Tristam Fane Saunders made the same claim and wrote: "Ageism might have been a factor in Skinner's sacking. At 67, he's technically a pensioner. But radio, unlike football, is not a young man's game. There's no reason a good broadcaster can’t keep going until they drop. Look at Tony Blackburn, or Melvyn Bragg."
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Fans were equally as disappointed and rushed to social media to slam Absolute Radio over the decision to axe Frank. One user commented: "This has ruined my weekend. What a dreadful decision by @absoluteradio. The only radio show I look forward to listening to and purposely tune in to."
One fan posted: "Terrible news for a Saturday morning and can’t wait to see which impossibly young and ‘trendy’ broadcaster takes over." The radio star announced the news during his show. He said: "My manager (called)... you know every year, about this time, we've just celebrated our 15th anniversary on the show, so obviously that means the new contract is coming, and every year I do self-deprecating jokes about the fact that we probably won't get it renewed."
Frank added: "Guess what?! Yeah, we didn't! So we're not just going now, I'm not going to say bye and that's the end we've got, like, several other, we've got some notice to serve, but yeah, but no that was um... that's it!
"We had a good run but I realise that in recent times but I am ever more becoming Grandad from The Simpsons, but even so, I'm not going to pretend I took it... well." Mirror Online have contacted Absolute Radio and Frank's representatives for comment.
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